Today, wireless service providers such as Sprint have certified provisions that detail some level of ownership over the wireless devices that connect to its network. These wireless service providers certify mostly every device on their network before it goes out for sale to a customer. Therefore, a wireless service provider will know many attributes and abilities of a connecting device. With such knowledge, a wireless service provider can determine which devices will be capable of handling certain services and applications, and can apply proper formatting of content based on a device's attributes and abilities.
As the wireless industry moves to Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), the device market may become broad and uncontrolled such that most electronic devices will be able to log onto any WiMAX network. A problem can arise in that wireless service providers may not be able to certify all attributes and capabilities of these devices as it may not have prior knowledge these devices. Without this knowledge, the wireless service provider may not be able to properly format service and applications according to each device's specific capabilities.